PM Highly Values Nam Theun II Achievements

(KPL) Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith has considered the mega hydropower development project, the Nam Theun II Dam, as a good example in terms of national development, national revenue generation, and environmental protection.

Giving an interview to the media on Friday, the Prime Minister said that the cooperation between the government of Laos and the World Bank for this project is a very good type.

“The government and the World Bank urged investors, and all stakeholders involved in this project to do their best in conducting its feasibility study. As a result, the project has borne good results. We discussed in a proactive manner how to use the income from this project, such as which development projects we need to spend the money to ensure concrete results and that the money is spent efficiently,” said the premier.

A number of challenges were faced during the construction of the project as concerns were raised on the possible impacts on the environment and local communities, opposition from environmentalists, Laos’ lack of experience in developing such a project as stakeholders were worried how to design the project in a way that ensured the project was effective, complying with environment protection, and had minimal impacts on local communities, and what kind of mechanisms needed to be put in place to ensure the affected communities took part in the development of the project.

The Nam Theun 2 Hydroelectric plant began producing electricity commercially in 2010 after almost two decades of planning and construction activities, according to the Nam Theun 2 Power Company.

The power station has an installed capacity of 1,070 MW that can generate 6,000 Gwh of electricity per year. About 95% of the power is exported to Thailand.